CBNNews.com - At a ceremony honoring Golani Brigade soldiers for exemplary action in counter-terror operations in the Gaza Strip, Major General Yaov Galant said the work isn't over.

"Our mission in Gaza has not yet been completed and a period of difficult trials lies ahead," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Southern Command chief said.

At the ceremony, Galant awarded citations to soldiers from the Golani Brigades 51 Battalion, saying that their work in Gaza from July 2007 through February 2008 showed "determination, perseverance and daring."

Twenty-two year old field commander Lt. Simon Sisso, who received a citation, said IDF troops face an increasingly organized fighting force.

"We were fighting a Hamas organized just like a proper army, with a hierarchy, commanders, a chain of orders and units specializing in different types of combat," he said.